Business Development Manager – Apprenticeships

Job Title: Business Development Manager – Apprenticeships

Salary: Circa £35,000 basic + strong commission

Location: Remote / field-based, with travel to employers and companies sites as required

About Our Client

Our client is a growing group of Ofsted Good independent training providers. The group supports learners, employers, public bodies and communities across England through apprenticeships, employability programmes, skills training, commercial courses, green skills, Skills Bootcamps and supported learning. The organisation combines regional expertise with national scale, working with employers and partners to help people build skills, progress into work and develop long-term careers.

The Opportunity

Our client is looking for a commercially strong Business Development Manager to drive apprenticeship growth across employers of all sizes. This role is focused on opening doors, building strategic employer relationships and positioning the organisation's apprenticeship offer as a practical workforce development solution for organisations looking to attract, retain and develop talent.

The Business Development Manager role would suit an experienced apprenticeship sales professional who is comfortable engaging stakeholders, managing consultative sales cycles and building relationships across HR, L&D, Talent, Early Careers, Operations and senior leadership teams.

Role Overview

The Business Development Manager will be responsible for identifying, developing and winning new apprenticeship business from non-levy and levy-paying organisations. The focus will be on building meaningful employer partnerships, understanding workforce challenges and aligning our client's apprenticeship provision to business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive new apprenticeship business with employers across our client's target sectors and regions.
• Identify, approach and develop relationships with senior employer stakeholders including HR Directors, L&D leaders, Talent teams, Early Careers leads, Operations Directors and Finance/Procurement contacts.
• Position our client's apprenticeship offer as a strategic workforce development solution, not simply a training product.
• Build and manage a high-quality pipeline of employer opportunities, from prospecting and discovery through to proposal, negotiation and close.
• Lead consultative conversations around skills needs, workforce planning, levy utilisation, recruitment, retention and progression.
• Work closely with internal delivery, curriculum, marketing and operational teams to ensure employer proposals are realistic, compelling and deliverable.
• Represent our client professionally at employer meetings, networking events, sector events and conferences.
• Maintain accurate CRM records, sales forecasts, activity tracking and clear next-step discipline.

Ideal Candidate

• Proven track record in apprenticeship business development.
• Strong understanding of the apprenticeship levy, funded training, employer engagement and workforce development.
• Confident engaging senior decision makers across HR, L&D, Talent, Early Careers, Operations and Finance.
• Commercially sharp, credible and able to translate training provision into clear business value.
• Strong new business focus with the ability to open doors, build trust and close opportunities.
• Strong CRM discipline, pipeline management and forecasting skills.
• Positive, resilient, professional and aligned to our client's values of ambition, kindness, reliability, authenticity and continuous learning.

Knowledge / Experience That Would Be Advantageous

• Experience working for an independent training provider, college, university, apprenticeship provider or skills organisation.
• Existing relationships with levy-paying employers.
• Understanding of apprenticeship standards across areas such as business, digital, finance, leadership, HR, operations or professional services.
• Experience selling across multiple regions or into national employers.
• Knowledge of employability, Skills Bootcamps, commercial training or wider funded skills programmes.

Paul Feldman is the National Skills Agency Data Protection Officer. Your data will be stored until notice is given by you for it to be removed. Our Data Protection Policy will be forwarded to you on request. As we get a high number of applications we may be unable to give feedback to unsuccessful candidates. We will retain your details to  keep you informed of other opportunities. National Skills Agency Ltd is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy and is an Equal Opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.